Card-file.



J. V. HEMSTREBT.

CARD FILE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 12, 1912.

1,051,108. Patented Jan..21,1913.

By W15 N FTQ.

JOHN VANKIRK HEMSTREET, OF HERKIMER, NEW YORK.

CARD-FILE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 21,1913.

Application filed April 12, 1912. Serial No. 690,373.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J GEN V. HEMSTREET, a citizen of the United States, residing at Herkimer, in the county of Herkimer and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Card Files, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to card index drawers, and particularly to an adjustable follower therefor.

The purpose of the invention is to secure a neat and relatively simple latch for holding the adjustable follower in its various positions.

I illustrate a preferred embodiment in the drawings, in which- Figure l is a longitudinal section of a drawer having my invention attached; Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the constituent parts of the locking device, showing them slightly separated from their assembled positions.

The card drawer, which is of the usual form, consists of the side pieces 1, the front 2, and the back 3. The bottom of the drawer is made of two pieces 4:, spaced apart to leave an intervening slot. Guided in this slot is a shoe or lug 5 which is attached to the movable follower 6, which, as is common in such devices, extends from side to side of the drawer. Mounted vertically in a hole 7 in the follower 6 and lug 5 is a plunger 8, urged upwardly by a spring 9. This plunger 8 carries at its lower extremity a cross bar 10 which is threaded on the plunger at 11 to permit adjustment and extends laterally so as to bear upon the bottom boards of the drawer at either side of the slot mentioned. The cross bar 10 works in a slot 12 in the lug 5 so that it cannot turn on the plunger 8. The spring 9 is placed under suflicient compression to hold the follower 6 snugly against the bottom of the drawer so as to frictionally retain it in any desired position. In order to release the follower a plunger 13 is mounted in the follower to slide in a direction transverse to that of the plunger 8, and carries an inclined cam surface 14 so arranged that when the plunger 13 is pressed inwardly the plunger 8 will be forced downwardly by the inclined cam. The plunger 13 is guided in a metallic bushing 15 mounted in the follower 6, and is held in its outward position by a spring 16. It will be noted that the cam surface 14: terminates in a shoulder which limits the outward movement of the plunger 13, and that the upper end of the plunger 8 is fiattened as at 18 where it projects into the bushing 15. This flattening of the plunger 8 serves the double purpose of furnishing a shoulder against which a spring retaining washer 19 may be held and further of preventing any rotation of the plunger which would aifect the adjustment of the shoe 10. It will thus be seen that the cross bar 10 serves as a frictional shoe to lock the follower in position and that by pressing upon the plunger 13 the plunger 8 may be depressed to move this shoe 10 out of engagement, and permit movement of the follower as desired.

The device is very compact and may be readily mounted in a follower of the ordinary thickness, and having no exposed parts except the push button or plunger 13, presents a neat and attractive appearance.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is 1. The combination of a file box; a follower therefor; a friction shoe mounted on the follower; a spring for holding said shoe in frictional contact with a portion of the box; and a plunger mounted in and projecting from the rear face of the follower, and provided with an inclined face adapted to move the friction shoe out of engagement with the box when the plunger is pressed inward.

2. The combination with a file box and a follower therefor, of a plunger mounted in the follower; a friction shoe carried by the plunger and adapted to bear upon a portion of the box; a spring adapted to urge said shoe in contact with the box; and a second spring held plunger provided with a cam face mounted in the follower and adapted to coact with the first mentioned plunger to move the same in a direction to move the friction shoe out of contact with the box.

3. The combination of a file box; a follower guided therein; a plunger mounte in the follower and having a flattened portion at one end; a friction shoe mounted on the other end of said plunger and adapted to bear against a portion of the file box; a

spring interposed between said plunger and the follower and urging said shoe against the file box; a guide bushing mounted in the follower transversely to the aXis of the plunger and having a slot through which the flattened portion thereof projects; and a release button guided in the guide way and having a cam notch adapted to coact with the flattened end of the plunger to limit the outward movement of said button and to move the plunger to disengage the friction 10 shoe when the button is pressed inwardly. In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.-

JOHN VANKIRK HEMSTREET. Vitnesses:

JAMES H. GREENE, J ENNIE M. TABER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. C. 

